Title:

New Mexico Drug Threat Assessment

Publication Date: April
2002

Document ID: 2002-S0387NM-001

Archived on: January 1, 2006.
This document may contain
dated information. It remains available to provide
access to historical materials.

This report is a strategic assessment that addresses the status and
outlook of the drug threat to New Mexico.
Analytical judgment determined the threat posed by each drug type or
category, taking into account the most current quantitative and
qualitative information on availability, demand, production or
cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of a
particular drug on abusers and society as a whole. While NDIC sought to
incorporate the latest available information, a time lag often exists
between collection and publication of data, particularly demand-related
data sets. NDIC anticipates that this drug threat assessment will be
useful to policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and treatment providers
at the federal, state, and local levels because it draws upon a broad
range of information sources to describe and analyze the drug threat to
New Mexico.

New Mexico is a major conduit for the flow of illicit drugs into the United
States from Mexico. The quantity of illicit drugs transported through New Mexico
far outweighs consumption within the state. Mexican drug trafficking
organizations and Mexican criminal groups control the transportation and
wholesale distribution of illicit drugs into and throughout New Mexico. Criminal
groups, prison and street gangs, and local independent dealers distribute drugs
at the retail level.

Expanded commercial trade between Mexico and the United States has led to a
significant increase in commercial traffic between the two countries resulting
in congestion at ports of entry along the Southwest Border. This congestion
offers Mexican traffickers opportunities to smuggle illicit drugs via commercial
and private vehicles through overburdened ports into the United States.
Additionally, traffickers often employ couriers to smuggle drugs into the state.

Cocaine poses the most significant drug threat to New Mexico. Both
powdered and crack cocaine continue to saturate the Albuquerque metropolitan
area and other urban areas of the state. Prices and purity levels of powdered
and crack cocaine have remained relatively stable throughout the state since
1999. Mexican drug trafficking organizations and Mexican criminal groups are the
primary transporters of powdered cocaine from Mexico. Mexican drug trafficking
organizations and Mexican criminal groups also control the wholesale
distribution of powdered cocaine; prison and street gangs distribute powdered
cocaine at the retail level. Crack cocaine distribution is limited to the retail
level. Cuban criminal groups, street gangs, and local independent dealers
purchase powdered cocaine from Mexican drug trafficking organizations and
Mexican criminal groups within the state and convert it to crack for retail
distribution.

Methamphetamine is an increasing drug threat to New Mexico. Throughout
the state the availability and abuse of the drug are increasing. While most of
the methamphetamine available in the state is smuggled across the border from
Mexico, New Mexico law enforcement officials report an increase in the
production and availability of locally produced methamphetamine. Mexican drug
trafficking organizations and Mexican criminal groups are the primary
transporters and wholesale distributors of Mexico-produced methamphetamine in
New Mexico; Mexican criminal groups, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and local
independent dealers control the production and wholesale distribution of locally
produced methamphetamine. Outlaw motorcycle gangs, prison and street gangs, and
local independent dealers are the primary distributors of both Mexico- and
locally produced methamphetamine at the retail level.

Heroin commonly is abused in New Mexico, as evidenced by the number of
heroin-related deaths and treatment admissions. New Mexico leads the nation in
per capita
heroin-related deaths. Mexican black tar heroin is the most readily available
type; however, Mexican brown powdered heroin also is available. Albuquerque is a
transshipment point for Mexican black tar and Mexican brown powdered heroin
destined for the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest.

Marijuana is the most readily available and most commonly abused drug in
New Mexico. Most of the marijuana available in New Mexico is produced in Mexico;
however, cannabis is cultivated in the state by local independent growers. While
Mexican drug trafficking organizations and Mexican criminal groups dominate the
transportation and wholesale distribution of Mexico-produced marijuana
throughout the state, local independent dealers control the wholesale
distribution of locally produced marijuana. Mexican criminal groups, street
gangs, and local independent dealers are the primary retail distributors
of Mexico- and locally produced marijuana throughout New Mexico.

The threat posed by other dangerous drugs to New Mexico is minimal.
Increases in the availability and use of club drugs have been noted by New
Mexico law enforcement officials; however, the user population remains very
limited. MDMA-related distribution and abuse are being monitored closely in New
Mexico, as they pose a growing threat elsewhere in the United States including
states that border New Mexico. LSD and psilocybin are the primary hallucinogenic
and psychedelic drugs abused in the state. In some areas of New Mexico, pharmaceutical drugs including oxycodone and
hydrocodone products are diverted and abused. Although the diversion and abuse
of pharmaceutical drugs are limited, they are a concern in the state.